1. Field of the Invention
This invention relates to a golf club and, more specifically, to a practice putter.
2. Description of Related Art
When playing golf, a significant number of strokes on each hole are taken attempting to putt the golf ball into the hole. Indeed, during an 18-hole round of golf, it is not uncommon for a golfer to putt 30 to 40 times. The importance of the putting stroke is made obvious when it is considered that a typical golfer will only take between 80-90 strokes to finish the round. Thus, 30% to 50% of the strokes in a round of golf could be taken with the putter. Clearly, if a golfer wishes to improve their score, mastery of the putting stroke is an absolute necessity.
The use of a practice putter, such as shown in FIG. 1, has been used for many years by golfers. The putter 10 of FIG. 1 has a shaft 12 terminating at one end in a putter grip 14 and at the other end into a club head 16. Head 16 comprises a generally spherical shape so that a curved convex striking surface is used to strike a golf ball 17. If curved portion of the striking surface (the xe2x80x9chitting zonexe2x80x9d) strikes the golf ball in an off-line manner, the convex surface will cause an accentuated deflection of the golf ball to the right or left of the intended path, thereby indicating a swing that is off-plane. The golfer is thus provided with immediate feedback so that they may adjust the mechanics of their stroke swing. It is widely believed that the use of practice putter 10 will help the golfer to xe2x80x9cgroovexe2x80x9d the putting swing with a conventional putter so that it is consistently on-plane when putting during a round of golf. As used herein, the phrase xe2x80x9cconventional putterxe2x80x9d means that a golf club approved by the United States Golf Association (USGA) for use in putting a golf ball.
Unfortunately, the prior art practice putter 10 does not replicate the weight distribution and alignment of conventional putters used by most golfers. More specifically, since head 16 is attached directly to the shaft, the hitting portion of head 16 is directly in line with shaft 12. Thus, the golfer must assume a grip on the shaft that may differ from the grip when using their actual putter. Further, the visual perspective is different since the shaft is directly in line with the hitting zone of the practice putter while the conventional putters typically have an off-set hitting zone. Further, with the wide number of available USGA-approved putters, it will be readily apparent that the shaft will attach to the putter head at a variety of positions so the relationship of the hitting zone with respect to the shaft will vary widely.
For example, FIG. 3A shows a putter where the shaft attaches to the heel of head 20. In this configuration, the shaft 22 is off-set from the hitting zone 24 by a distance of about an inch as represented at 26. Further, there is an angle, xcex, that is formed between the longitudinal axis 28 of shaft 22 and a vertical axis 30 through hitting zone 24. Thus, the golfer who practices with practice putter 10 will not only have a different visual perspective but will also have to hold the practice putter with shaft angle that differs from the shaft angle of the putter that will be used on the golf course. In contrast to the offset alignment of the putter in FIG. 3A, the putter shown in FIG. 3B will have a completely different alignment of the shaft with respect to the hitting zone. Specifically, in FIG. 3B the shaft 32 of the putter attaches to the center of the head but is offset to the rear of the hitting zone 24. Clearly, this type of putter presents the golfer a completely different visual perspective and alignment from that provided by putter 10. What is needed is a practice putter that can be aligned in a manner comparable to the alignment the golfer will use with his or her normal putter. What is also needed is a practice putter that provides the golfer with a visual perspective that more closely approximates the visual perspective the golfer has when putting with his or her conventional putter.
The present invention provides a practice golf club putter that has a spherical putter head attached to an off-set shaft. More specifically, the shaft is attached in an off-set from the club head so that the hitting zone is more closely oriented in a manner resembling the orientation between the shaft and club head of an USGA-approved putter.
In one preferred embodiment of the practice golf club putter of the present invention, the putter head is a cast, stainless steel ball having a bore in which a shaft is inserted and firmly affixed to form a single unit. A ferrule is attached at the junction of the shaft and head for strengthening purposes. The shaft has a single bend closely proximate to the ferrule. In contrast to the prior art practice putter of FIG. 1, the present embodiment provides an offset between the longitudinal axis of the shaft and the axis of the bore. This offset provides numerous advantages which will be described in the following section. Advantageously, both right and left handed putters may use the practice club of the present invention. Further, the golfer may position the shaft of the practice putter with respect to the hitting zone of the club head in an manner that more closely approximates the relationship of the shaft angle with respect to the hitting zone of a USGA-approved putter.